I’m getting really interested in books dealing with these part of the world’s folklore and mythology, it’s always fascinating.
And the magic behind the book was really creative.
Would recommend

Parece que hay una corriente de influencia árabe en parte de la fantasía actual, porque ya son varios títulos los que he leído recientemente con esta premisa, como The Daughters of Izdihar o The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. En esta ocasión Maiya Ibrahim basa más su novela en la relación fraternal de la protagonista y en un sistema mágico de afinidades que en la ambientación arábica que le sirve como marco.


Como digo, el sistema mágico es atractivo puesto que se basa en la ceremonia del te, infusionado de una especia mágica llamada misra. Los poderes se irán descubriendo poco a poco en la lectura y tienen un papel importante en la historia, pero no fundamental. Lo fundamental es la relación de Imani con su hermano. Por que la protagonista, a pesar de todos sus méritos, está a la sombra de su hermano desaparecido, al que creen muerto. Su función como Escudo protegiendo el reino oculto en el que vive de los ataques de djinn, ghouls y monstruos variopintos no tiene el reconocimiento que mereciera por las acciones de su hermano, huido fuera del reino mágico con una importante cantidad de misra.

Casi un año después de la desaparición, Imani consigue información que hace que sospeche que su hermano sigue vivo, así que se organiza una partida de búsqueda para su recuperación, de la que la propia Imani forma parte, aunque no la lidere.

La mayoría de la novela nos narra el viaje de los expedicionarios y resulta a veces demasiado lenta en su forma de mostrarnos los hechos. Me gusta la importancia que Ibrahim da a la familia y a las relaciones familiares, es de lo más atractivo del libro. Pero lo cierto es que el escenario en el que leemos la historia está apenas esbozado, los personajes son un poquito arquetípicos y en general, la novela no deja mucha huella.

La existencia de un triángulo amoroso que implica a Imani parece un poco metida con calzador, porque la verdad es que los otros dos vértices del triángulo son bastante odiosos. Tampoco es que la prosa sea una maravilla, por eso creo que Spice Road es una novela que se puede dejar pasar perfectamente.

*4.5 stars rounded down to 4*

This book was admittedly longer than I expected it to be, and while it took s few pages to really get into this world, I adored it!

The world building was so intricate and interesting, and a magic system based on tea? Yes please! It was certainly not what I was expecting, but I loved it anyway.

The characters had so many dimensions and sides to them, I never knew who to root for and who to dislike! With every chapter came a new twist.

I am so looking forward to reading the next book and finding out where the rest of the series goes!

I particularly loved the plot of this novel, honing in on the Arabian-inspired land with an equally engrossing magic system. However, I was slightly let down in terms of character development and world-building which the plot didn't manage to prop up. I'm still looking forward to the next instalment as the action-packed fantasy is enough to rope you in.

Preliminary 5-star review. Will post a full review and adjust the rating accordingly after I finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

3.9 stars

Infused with tea magic, and action-packed to the brim, The Spice Road isn't a book like any other. Its premise was quite interesting, and I admit, it was what drew me into the book—won't you throw up your hands for a Arab-inspired high fantasy that touches upon the themes of colonisation, too?

But that being said, I can say that the book did a great job in well, everything. The characters felt fleshed out, you can make out that Imani has lived a life of privilege, blind to the plight and suffering of others. And as the threads slowly unravel around her, she is to choose between the education she received against the secrets she's uncovering. Taha, in my opinion, was a very well-written character. I think it was a good thing I say upon this review for some time, because otherwise, I would be hating on Taha. He's arrogant, yes, but he was so human. Would I say he's likable? Probably not, given his unpredictable nature. There isn't much about Qayn we discover in the book, but the author left loose ends, perfectly setting up for the sequel.

The pace, I admit, was awry in certain parts of the book. That's what made me reduce a star. And some parts of the book just felt frustrating to me; be it the decisions the characters make, or the way the plot progressed. But of course, it is all to be expected in a young adult novel—teenagers are unpredictable after all, and this was only a problem for me. The best part though, was the stance on colonialism, and how the author handles the topic, especially in the fantasy genre.

All in all, I can conclude that I will be reading the upcoming books by the author, because fantasies with good plot and set ups are my weaknesses. Especially if you leave countless questions unanswered. I can't quite speak on the representation as I am not of Arab descent ( pls look for own-voices reviewers!), but I loved how it wove into the plot beautifully. More the reason to pick this book up!

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, for presenting me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the world building with Spice Road.
It was very well written and had some beautiful prose.
For me, I found the main character a little hard to gel with and perhaps some tropes were included that I don’t usually enjoy myself.

I would still recommend the book to fans of YA fantasy romance - and indeed I think this is a very high quality book within that sub genre.

I would read more from this author.

I usually love ya books, especially fantasy but i couldn't really connect with this one. I struggled with the world building and couldnt really have a gripp on it. I couldnt also form a relationship with the characters. The synopsis really showed a premise that i couldnt find throughout the book. I still recommend it.

Having read The Stardust Thief last year, and really wanting more fantasy set outside of Europe/European-based settings, I was really hoping for exciting things from this, but I just couldn't get on with it. I'm not a DNF-er usually, but I managed about two thirds and had to give up, the story was going nowhere fast, the characters weren't interesting or even likeable - any of them, and there was so much unnecessary description and internal monologuing/agonising/considering that literally stopped action scenes in their tracks, that I wondered if the book had seen an editor.

There was a lot to this that could have worked well, the travelogue-style plot, while these can become quite repetitive and scene based as the characters go from one location to the next, I really like a travelogue plot; enemies-to-lovers romance, I still like when done well; and a quest - the search for a lost brother with the members of the search party all having different, often conflicting motives. Throw that in with magic, and Arabian Nights-style adventure and it's a winning formula right?

Erm no, not for me.

Red flags: I know enemies-to-lovers is a popular trope, and it's YA, so there HAS to be romance, but the main relationship was such a bad relationship, I was really rooting for one of them to get some real-world common sense and just talk to each other like people and snap out of it! With the world and level of experience of fighting they had, Taha seemed far to old to be still playing class bully and getting away with it, with his friends sniping and snickering in the background, but the odd comment that wasn't an outright horrible one to Amira, and suddenly she finds him attractive, that's a toxic, outright abusive relationship right there, where the woman still feels for the man because for one minute out of each day he doesn't treat her like rubbish...but it's written like we're meant to root for them.

There also seemed to be a lot of things derived from popular fantasy films, to the point where I was taken out of the book because certain pieces of dialogue sounded too familiar, or because scenes in the book were too reminiscent of scenes from films I'd scene. For example, there was one scene where the characters are running through the streets of a town, and there's a description of having to duck as someone was carrying a carpet. It felt like I was reading someone describing a visual medium, perhaps 'One Jump' from Aladdin? Whether that's true or not, I have no idea, it's likely to be my brain associating the two, but the kind of slapstick nature of it, and the way it was described, still felt oddly disjointed and slotted into the rest of the narrative, as did certain conversations, and interruptions to the action where the FMC was learning a valuable life lesson, like the author wanted to drive their point home - 'see readers: this is why we should never judge a book by it's cover' type of lessons. 'Tis a shame for me, because the Fairyloot edition of this book is really beautiful. Sigh.

I really couldn't finish it, and wish I had some text examples to explain why a bit better, but I can't face trawling through it right now, I'll update my review should I finish the book and/or go back to further illustrate why I thought this didn't work for me personally.

On the other hand, after this, I read The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, another quest-style plot, also based in South-West Asia, but much more rooted in real-world geography, religion, and mythology, if you like this genre of fiction, I highly recommend that one instead.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really liked the worldbuilding in this novel, and the colonial parallels drawn were pertinent. However, I couldn't get past the fact that the main protagonist was so sheltered and spoiled that she lacked even the simplest empathy, and it was very obvious from the start that she was going to have an epiphany at some point during the novel. Having said that, I did still enjoy the plot and would read the next installment.

I received an ARC of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was an undoubtedly fun read that I got into very quickly. I particularly like the character's energy with Amirah and Qayn as exceptional standouts. I personally feel like the story got somewhat convoluted and loses steam towards the end but it was still mostly entertaining.

This is a plot-focused book, and that is where its strengths lie, with a quest to another city across a dangerous desert, and various adventure scenes along the way (the second half of the book was most compelling in that regard, once they get to the city). I think it’s pitched well for teenage audiences who enjoy a bit of melodrama and flowery prose.

However my preference is for character-driven stories, and I found that the characterisation fell flat. The main character, Imani, was entitled and a bit clueless while also being hailed as an incredible warrior (I don’t mind arrogant kids being arrogant kids I just need the characterisation to be fully fleshed out, and I felt like Imani wasn’t). The love interest is a ~mean boy~ but it seems like his bullying was/is going to be excused because his dad is a powerful doucebag so of course Taha struggles to not be a dick. Qayn was an ancient djinn but also seemed to act like a teenager half the time. I’ve already forgotten basically all the others.

As a side note, basically all the relationships (not just romantic, but between Imani and literally everyone) are combative in some way. I assume this was supposed to be a source of tension but instead it left me feeling a bit meh about it all.

While the worldbuilding we were given was interesting, I just with there was MORE of it. The concept of a magical city that’s been hidden from the rest of the world is solid. I really wish there was more about the magic tea. Instead it’s mostly a plot device, in terms of providing the set up for the book - Imani’s brother disappeared after being accused of stealing it - and by adding to stakes to situation where they need magic but the tea’s effects are wearing off. And I personally would have enjoyed a greater understanding of the political situations, but that is not a criticism of the book just a personal preference.

You know that feeling when you’re reading a nice book and you start to think “wait, this is actually a really good one”? This is the case.
Maiya Ibrahim crafted an enchanting story, with interesting characters and a truly fascinating plot.
She subverted tropes (the annoying little sister? you'll love her, even more than the protagonist) and crafted a tale of family, love, and loyalty.
What I loved the most was how both Imani and Taha subvert the trope of the lowborn and the highborn and their different views on their society, they're both indoctrinated in different ways and through the story we're able to see how this impact their way of thinking and acting.
Family, friendship and freedom are other themes well developed and even if they're not out of place in a YA novel, it's how they were written that stands out.
Also, we have a Djinn?
He's important to the story even if he's not present in a lot of scenes but it's enough to be a favorite (and maybe a part of a love triangle? with who?)

Amazing, amazing, amazing! I absolutely loved this book and just everything about it. The plot, the characters, the twists, just so so good. I can’t wait for book 2!

‘I wanted to go home with Atheer and Amira and have everything return to normal, but nothing will ever be the same after this, and I don’t know who to be mad at.’

I LOVE stories set in an Arabian-inspired lands filled with magic, Djinn, beautiful world building, romance and rebellion so I was SO looking forward to reading this one!
I did however find it fell a bit flat. It could possibly be a me problem- I just didn’t gel with the FMC, Imani, at all. I found her whiney and her naivety difficult to get past- her younger sister managed to see things fine, so how was she so entitled and BLIND!?
The ‘Romance’ aspect of this story also missed the bar a bit for me too,
So, I do think this story had a beautiful and vibrant world, but the characters could have been developed more and I just didn’t get on with this unfortunately.

I was really excited for this book but the main character Imani got on my nerves. I also didn't like the writing style much as it seemed to be one-liner after one-liner instead of the author telling a story.

I liked this, and I thought the magic system was pretty cool, I’ve never read anything like this.

It had a very historical feel to it, which was quite cool. And I loved seeing Imani’s battle of her heart.

The twists and turns definitely kept me on my toes and it was a really engaging book because of this, but I also do think that maybe there was a little too much of this? I do think I’m just being fussy in all honesty, and it was still a great book.

One of my favourite things, and perhaps the most applaudable, was the amount of valuable lessons passed in this book. There was a lot of wisdom shared from many characters, especially the older ones, and I absolutely love books that do that. It’s nice to take something away from a book other than a story.

I do however think there could’ve been a cliffhanger at the end. I don’t feel there was one. I wanted to be itching to have the next book in my hands, but I can’t say I feel that way because there isn’t something I’m desperately in need of knowing. Everything was concluded, and instead a new challenge is to be embarked, which is fine, and interesting enough for me to want to read the next book. But I think a gripping cliff hanger would have me yearning for it. Again, I could just be being fussy, but this is my view.

Overall, great read. Would recommend for fans of fantasy, with a hint of romance, and in my opinion history (albeit fictional)

With spice magic, an Arabian-inspired land, a mysterious djinn, a tense company on a dangerous journey & a dash of romance, this YA fantasy debut is worth picking up —especially with themes like colonialism and family being explored. Full review will be posted on the blog on March 07, 2023 and will be updated on here too.

I had high hopes for this, but - and this is very much a me issue, because I'm just very picky with fantasy - this book didn't live up to them. The plot, and especially the world building, had a lot of potential, but the characters didn't stand out to me, which made it hard to feel invested. They felt like very standard YA protagonists that didn't really feel unique.

Spice Road had a really interesting premise to me but unfortunately it missed the mark in its projection. The first 20% flew by but then I quickly lost interest until the last 15%. The one thing that kept me reading was the magic system. Infuriatingly, it's never really explained but the people in the narrative have different affinities to magical abilities. So one can manipulate steel, one can manipulate animals etc etc

I would have loved more on this! Like I said the premise really intrigued me, quickly into the narrative we are launched on to our adventure, the world building is good but the characters are a little lack lustre. I like Qayn, the djinni and wanted more from Taha's group who weren't overly developed.

The end of the book really picked up the pace so I've yet to decide if I will carry on with the next book but I'll definitely be tempted in the hope that everything and everyone is explored more!